Dolphins Tie for First in One Draft Category
The Miami Dolphins set the stage for their 2021 draft with a couple of trades dating back two years ago, namely the Laremy Tunsil and Minkah Fitzpatrick deals.
But they also were busy with draft-related trades from the start of the 2021 offseason through the end of the draft, and the stats show it.
There were a total of 49 trades made this year that involved 2021 draft picks, and the Dolphins were involved in exactly one-seventh of them. The Dolphins tied for the league lead in most 2021 trades involving draft picks this year, joined at the top by the Houston Texans. For those keeping score, three other teams tied for next-highest total with five: the Las Vegas Raiders, Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams.
The only team in the entire NFL without a single trade this year involving a 2021 draft pick was the Los Angeles Chargers.
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The Dolphins actually did most of their work related to draft-related trades before the draft, with only two of them coming during the past three days.
The first trade during the draft came in the second round when the Dolphins sent a 2022 third-round pick (their own) to the New York Giants to move up eight spots (from 50 to 42) to select Notre Dame tackle Liam Eichenberg.
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The Dolphins then traded a fifth-round pick they had acquired in an earlier 2021 trade to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a 2022 fourth-round selection.
Here's a reminder of the five trades the Dolphins made before the draft involving 2021 picks, and how those picks ended up being used:
Houston ended up trading that 203rd overall pick to the Buffalo Bills; the Dolphins used the 231st overall pick to select T Larnel Coleman.
The Titans traded that 232nd overall pick, which Miami obtained in a 2020 trade for Charles Harris, to the Carolina Panthers.
The 49ers, of course, used the third overall pick on QB Trey Lance and the Dolphins used the 12th pick in another deal.
That sixth pick was the one the Dolphins used to land WR Jaylen Waddle and the fifth-rounder was the one they traded to the Steelers for the 2022 fourth-round choice. Philadelphia, meanwhile, used the 12th pick to move up to 10th and select fellow Alabama WR DeVonta Smith. The Eagles used the fourth-round pick (123rd overall) to select DB Zech McPhearson from Texas Tech.
Dolphins traded G Ereck Flowers and a 2021 7th-round pick to Washington for a 2021 7th-round pick
The Dolphins moved up 14 spots in the seventh round with the trade and with the 244th overall selection took RB Gerrid Doaks. With the 258th overall selection, the Washington Football Team took BYU WR Dax Milne.
Here's the complete rundown of the number of trades made by each team since January 1 involving 2021 draft picks:
7 — Houston Texans, Miami Dolphins
5 — Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams
4 — Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
3 — Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans
2 — Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Washington Football Team
1 — Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
0 — Los Angeles Chargers
